Chapter 1: Brother and Sister

"It is now 4:43 AM on August 3, 2018." A male voice echoed in the dark room.

The voice was deep and magnetic, with an unmistakable... anger in its tone.

"Ah? Oh, I forgot, there's a one-hour time difference in Korea, it's already 5:43 here." A lively and cheerful, yet somewhat... deep (?) female voice came from the light in the darkness.

In the dark room, a phone lay face-down on the bed, the speakerphone on, a faint light seeping through the covered screen, slightly illuminating the side of a man's face buried in a pillow.

"Are you sick or something?" The man's muffled, weak voice came from the pillow.

"Hehe, I forgot, I forgot." The woman chuckled, "But, big brother, I got my first endorsement today!!!"

"Oh, and then what?"

"What do you mean? You're not even happy for me at such a significant moment, are you my real brother?" The woman said, somewhat discontent.

"No, we don't even share the same last name." The man said without hesitation.

"How can we not be real siblings just because one follows Dad's last name and the other follows Mom's!" An indignant voice came through.

The man could already picture the adorable, rule-breaking face of his little sister in his mind.

So adorable…

It must feel great to scold her.

"You're a celebrity, aren't you? Aren't you very busy? Can you go do something?" The man turned his head, his eyes hazy as he looked ahead.

The faint light cast a shadow on his face.

He was a handsome man, very handsome, with a charm that matched his sister's cuteness.

"Forget it, a sleepy brother is no fun at all!" The sister's muttering voice reached the man's ears.

"Go back to sleep, I'll tell you again when you wake up, and this time, I'll make sure to tell you properly."

"Bye!"

Hearing this, the man wasted no time.

He reached out, grabbed the phone, hung up, and pulled the blanket over his head in one fluid motion.

Three minutes later…

The blanket was pulled back, revealing the man's face, which looked like he had lost all hope in life.

…

My name is Lin Ye. I live in the capital, Beijing, born in 1994, on March 9th.

I am a genius, yes… a little genius.

Not a smartwatch, but a genius, just not as powerful.

In 2010, at the age of sixteen, I was admitted to the Law School of Renmin University. In 2014, I successfully obtained a master's degree, and in 2016, I was admitted to the Law School of Peking University for a doctoral program. In 2017, I was recruited by the prestigious law firm, Canghua, and became an intern.

Now, I am a junior defense lawyer at Canghua Law Firm.

By the general public's standards, I am an elite.

Yes, lawyers are often considered elites, right?

Canghua is one of the top law firms in the country… one of the best. As a renowned red-circle law firm, only the most talented can enter.

I, Lin Ye, am one of those talents!

My family is good, with excellent conditions. I haven't experienced the luxury of being served by servants, nor the hardship of going hungry.

My father is a deputy chief physician at Renhe Hospital, and my mother is a senior teacher at No. 101 High School. I am a lawyer at the red-circle law firm, Canghua.

To outsiders, we are all elites.

A deputy chief physician at Renhe Hospital is undoubtedly an elite.

A senior teacher at No. 101 High School is also considered an elite in the education field.

As for me, I am an elite, too!

However, in such a family, there is one oddball.

An oddball with dreams.

Lin Ye looked at his reflection in the mirror.

So handsome.

He picked up the water cup on the table and rinsed his mouth.

After washing up, he returned to the bedroom and picked up his phone.

He checked the messages; the girl hadn't sent any, meaning she could take the call now.

He found the contact labeled "Candy" and called her.

The phone rang for only a few seconds before it was answered.

"Good morning, oppa~" A familiar, energetic voice came from the receiver.

"If you could change 'oppa' to 'brother' or 'big brother,' I would say good morning back." Lin Ye put the phone on speaker and threw it on the bed.

"Why? 'Oppa' sounds good." His sister's puzzled voice came through.

"Because I don't know how to say 'sister' in Korean." Lin Ye opened the wardrobe and started looking for his clothes for the day.

"Yeo dong saeng (sister)"

Lin Ye: "…"

"Good morning."

"What? Every time I ask you to learn Korean, you dodge it like this."

"You speak Chinese, who would I use Korean with?" Lin Ye said, holding his clothes.

"I have a lot of pretty sisters here, like Yoona, Jiyeon, Irene… If you learn Korean, you could easily get one of them to be my sister-in-law."

"I don't know any of those people, and I'm not interested. Oh, by the way, congratulations on your first endorsement." Lin Ye took off his pajamas, revealing his muscular build.

"That's too perfunctory. Are you doing something else while on the phone again?" His sister's discontented voice came through.

"You caught me, I'm changing clothes."

"Now… Wait? Big brother, you got up at six?"

"Didn't you wake me up!" Lin Ye said irritably.

"Hehe, sorry."

"Alright. How are you getting along with your teammates?"

"Hey, don't you trust your sister's social skills? They're great!"

"I don't understand what you're thinking. Isn't China big enough for you?" Lin Ye said, putting on his pants, exasperatedly.

"We've discussed this issue hundreds of times over the past three years. Can we change the topic, brother?"

"Change the topic, and I'll hang up. Your big brother has to eat breakfast and go to work."

"Wait, wait, wait, I have something to tell you." The girl quickly stopped Lin Ye.

"Go ahead."

"I have a very familiar sister who has run into some trouble. Since you're a lawyer, I recommended you to her."

Lin Ye: "???"

"Your familiar sister? Who?"

"Someone you don't know, from Korea."

"Korean? I represent? I studied Chinese law, little girl." Lin Ye was speechless. Does she not know that laws differ between countries?

"She had a problem in China, so according to some principle, Chinese law applies." The girl said.

"Alright, I understand. Send me her contact information and the details later." Lin Ye said impatiently.

"Hehe, thank you, big brother!" The girl thanked him sweetly.

"Anything else?"

"No, no, go ahead. Remember to eat breakfast, or you won't have a full day of energy!"

Lin Ye sighed, rubbing his forehead. This girl…

"Before you say that, think about whether you've eaten. One meal a day, you'll starve yourself to death."

"Hehe, just for a while, it's fine." She had long been used to Lin Ye's sharp tongue.

Lin Ye held the phone, silent for a moment.

"Take care of yourself."

"Don't worry, you too, big brother."

"Alright, I'm hanging up."

"Bye, big brother, love you~"

After the call ended, the screen returned to the home page.

Looking at the photo of himself and the girl on the home screen, Lin Ye sighed.

Back then, she was a chubby little girl, now she's as thin as a stick.

Dreams, huh?

Lin Ye shook his head helplessly. Raised under his parents' arrangements, he found it hard to understand what dreams really were.

But as a brother, all he could do was support every decision his sister made that she wouldn't regret.

In a foreign land, what keeps this girl going is probably her dreams.

P.S.: The timeline of this book is for reference only.